Titusville in Brevard County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
The Thompson Family Garden
Garden #8
Rodney & Mary Jean Wattwood Thompson
Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 9, 2022
1. The Thompson Family Garden (Garden #8) Marker
Inscription.
The Thompson Family Garden. Garden #8. Members of Rodney's family moved to Florida before the Civil War, and in the 1890's moved to Merritt Island. In the early 1900's grandfather James Thompson operated a sawmill near Fox Lake. Rodney was born in 1930 to parents Herbert Thompson and Elizabeth Fay MacPheron. Mary Jean's father, Herman Wattwood came to Titusville in 1925 and was Postmaster for many decades, and mother Grace Hart came to north Merritt Island in 1926 to teach school at Shiloh. Herman and Grace married and Mary Jean was born in 1932. Grace worked at the Coca Cola Bottling Plant and later owned Wattwood's Dress Shop in Titusville. In 1949 Herbert saved the western span of Walker Bridge when it was replaced by a concrete bridge, leased the old wooden span and built a bait shop on it, advertising it as The Worlds Longest Free Fishing Pier. Rodney and Mary Jean married in 1950 and had four children, Laurilee, Sherri, Tim and Tom. Rodney owned three boat manufacturing companies; T-Craft and Off Shore 30 Co. produced recreational boats, and Thompson Trawlers commercial fishing vessels. He had vested interests in Sand Point Inn, Titusville, Pelican Point, in Cocoa Beach, Ponce Seafood - a processing plant for Rock Shrimp, and Cape Canaveral Shrimp Co. at Port Canaveral. Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant was established in 1983, and The Wild Ocean Seafood Markets in 2004, and both owned and operated by family members. The Thompson family was named Brevard County Farm Bureau 2010 Farm Family of the Year.
Members of Rodney's family moved to Florida before the Civil War, and in the 1890's moved to Merritt Island. In the early 1900's grandfather James Thompson operated a sawmill near Fox Lake. Rodney was born in 1930 to parents Herbert Thompson and Elizabeth Fay MacPheron. Mary Jean's father, Herman Wattwood came to Titusville in 1925 and was Postmaster for many decades, and mother Grace Hart came to north Merritt Island in 1926 to teach school at Shiloh. Herman and Grace married and Mary Jean was born in 1932. Grace worked at the Coca Cola Bottling Plant and later owned Wattwood's Dress Shop in Titusville. In 1949 Herbert saved the western span of Walker Bridge when it was replaced by a concrete bridge, leased the old wooden span and built a bait shop on it, advertising it as The Worlds Longest Free Fishing Pier. Rodney and Mary Jean married in 1950 and had four children, Laurilee, Sherri, Tim and Tom. Rodney owned three boat manufacturing companies; T-Craft and Off Shore 30 Co. produced recreational boats, and Thompson Trawlers commercial fishing vessels. He had vested interests in Sand Point Inn, Titusville, Pelican
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Point, in Cocoa Beach, Ponce Seafood - a processing plant for Rock Shrimp, and Cape Canaveral Shrimp Co. at Port Canaveral. Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant was established in 1983, and The Wild Ocean Seafood Markets in 2004, and both owned and operated by family members. The Thompson family was named Brevard County Farm Bureau 2010 Farm Family of the Year.
Location. 28° 36.629′ N, 80° 48.461′ W. Marker is in Titusville, Florida, in Brevard County. It can be reached from the intersection of South Washington Avenue (U.S. 1) and Pine Street. Marker located within the Pritchard House Gardens. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 424 S Washington Ave, Titusville FL 32796, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s Space Coast. It is also in the American South and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of
Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 9, 2022
2. The Thompson Family Garden (Garden #8) Marker
Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Regarding The Thompson Family Garden. These family history gardens were sponsored by descendants of early families that settled in Titusville and North Brevard County. The plaques record family histories and stories of the development of the local area.
Also see . . . Family History Gardens. (Submitted on April 19, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 21, 2022. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 427 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 19, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
